On Feb 28, 7:43*am, Old Central wrote:
OK I am a regular Underground and Tramlink user but whenever I visit
DLR, (WIQ, West India Quay, and GAR, Gallions Reach) I often fail to
touch out.

Most valaidators face out so welcome travellers to the system but
don't help those existing the system.

Thoughts?


The DLR validators are often very badly placed. Examples:

Deptford Bridge (southern end), where the validators are near the
bottom of the stairs, but facing away from both the stairs and the
main road, towards the river path, easily missed.

Heron Quays, where the validator is in the middle of the area below
the station, nowhere near the stairs, such that if you leave at the
end nearest the Jubilee, you don't go past it or see it unless you
turn round and search for it.

Greenwich, where it's in the middle of the platform section that is an
island with NR, but if an unfamiliar traveller leaves from the front
half of a northbound DLR train and heads for the exit, expecting a
gateline as at Stratford, they won't pass any validators and would
have a very long walk back.

Solution:

Always have a validator at any point where people enter or leave the
platform (section) used by the DLR. At Heron Quays and Deptford
Bridge that would be at the tops of the staircases.

At Greenwich northbound, that would be at the wall beside where the
DLR disappears into tunnel (and also at the top of the stairs to the
other exit).

Stratford might be a special case (does it matter if you touch out at
both platform and gateline?). Also, these positions are not
exclusive. There could be additional validators at exits etc.

Advantages:

It wouldn't be possible, as now, for a large proportion of passengers
to enter/exit the DLR nowhere near the validators.

It wouldn't be necessary to touch in before being in sight of
information about whether the DLR is actually running.